Background

Ponies Help Children was established in 2015 by Moira Ireland and Heather Stephens. The family run organisation has grown steadily in that time and it now works with children, young people and adults from across Central Scotland.

Moira & Heather have had a lifelong passion for horses. This love was especially poignant with their first pony, Flake. She was such an inspiration and taught everyone around her that what you put into a horse you get back tenfold. Moira utilised her extensive knowledge of horses and began rescuing ponies who had experienced abuse or neglect. The ponies are nurtured back to full health and use their life experiences to help children and young people reach their full potential.

How it started

Initially, clients were referred from local Autism charities, HOPE and REACH, and from organisations dealing with children in Kinship care. The great reputation and overall development of Ponies Help Children has resulted in the charity working with North Lanarkshire Council, DeafBlind Scotland, Barnardo’s, Chris's House, South Lanarkshire Council, Sense Scotland, Women's Aid, Action for Children - Young Carers, Nurture Scotland, Blameless, local schools....... to name but a few!

What we offer

Unlike many other equine assisted therapy charities, Ponies Help Children are one of the few whose sessions don't involve riding, but instead allow the children the opportunity to have hands on, close contact with the ponies and develop a special bond between the two. Each block is made up of 7 weeks of 1-hour sessions, which are individually tailored to each child and involve grooming and lead work. As rescue ponies, they have experienced neglect and abuse, this to match them with a child who may have underwent similar hardships which assists in creating the amazing bond between the two and helps to form a basis for improving life skills.

Ponies Help Children main aim is to provide a safe haven for families with disadvantaged children and young people to engage with our ponies. These children and young people have the opportunity to build resilience through emotional connection; learn to trust and build relationships, cultivating positive physical, mental health and well-being whilst promoting social inclusion.

Now and beyond

Ponies Help Children has developed rapidly since 2015, when it acheived charity status, due to the amazing support of the volunteers who help with the horse’s welfare and client sessions. Unfortunately, Moira passed away in November 2019, but Heather and team will continue to develop PHC and fulfil the family’s mission of delivering its services to improve the mental health of children and young people across Central Scotland.

In 2021, the new facility was opened which enables PHC to have more sessions and clients per week. The charity continues to develop and grow, enabling us to support more children..

Listen About us

The Ponies Help Children Podcast started early 2023 with a view to share behind the scene stories of our ever evolving charity and speak with some of our supporters in the community. 

So far, we have shared the stories of some of our horses (Ep 6, 7 and 18), spoke with supporters in education and social care (Ep 5 and 17) as well as our strong ties with Stirling University (Ep 8, 16 and 24).

To find all of our episodes, follow the below link;
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ponies-help-children (or search for "Ponies Help Children" podcast on any of the main platforms you may use like Apple, Google, Amazon music, etc.)

For updates and reminders of the podcast, please follow @PHC.Podcast on INSTAGRAM